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Saturday, July 28, 2012

Australia-based Textspammer

Congratulations, your number has made you Apple's winner of the day! Go
to http://www.apple.com.au.txtaprize.com and enter code: 0757 on last
page to claim

The link www.apple.com.au.txtaprize.com is a redirect that goes to TXTAPRIZE.COM which is registered anonymously. Other links are sometimes sent out in text spam messages that also tell
recipients that have won an Apple iPhone. They could be run by the same
people or by other scammers working off the same page. As with the last textspammer I wrote about, you go to the link and enter a four-digit confirmation code. Any four digits you enter will automatically be approved, so don't worry. Curiously, this page looks almost exactly like the first page described in my earlier post, which makes me suspect that they could be controlled by the same people. In an apparent attempt to foil merry pranksters (like myself) there's another confirmation screen after this one that tells you that they know your IP address, so I'd advise using a proxy.

You can file a complaint against this spammer with Namecheap by going to their Support page.

If you get past all that, they ask for your cellphone number, so they can send you a confirmation code via SMS and then you'll automatically be subscribed to their service for whatever the charge is.

Interestingly, there's even a phone number for you to call if you have any problems: 1300734821. Good luck getting them to answer the phone if you call.

A quick search shows that this number is associated with other websites based in AustraliaFlirtlounge and Salsa Mobile.

While it is possible that these companies are innocent victims in this whole thing and that their phone number is being falsely used by scammers in an attempt to insulate themselves from angry textspam recipients, they may appreciate being told that their phone number is being used for nefarious purposes and you can email them
Flirtlounge: admin@flirtlounge.com.au
Salsa Mobile: support@salsamobile.com.au

But, there have been complaints about Salsa Mobile and I'm including a link for you to look over, just in case somebody is trying to pull a fast one.

Txtaprize also offers another way to get in touch with them via email: admin@CellOptOut.com but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for them to unsubscribe your cellphone number from their spam list. More likely, they'll just find-out that your cell number is valid and keep bothering you.

While they're a bit smarter than the run-of-the-mill textspammer, they haven't yet mastered the ability to only spam phones in their own country.

By the way, Apple doesn't giveaway phones through third party websites. Just so you know.